Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Gel coat and Epoxy if done correctly will it work?

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Topic19493.aspx

By fastboats - 10/9/2015 7:57:33 PM

Looking to make a mold of a small performance boat hull.

I have read that in order to make a very good mold that will last a long time some use carbon fiber vs fiberglass mat in a unimold type setup.

Once the part is setup and flanges in place can I apply gel wait for that to tack and apply a layor of carbon down and expoy coat over that?
Or will the Gel delaminate from the mold?

Thanks for any help and please go easy I'm new and learning as much as I can. 
By Fasta - 10/24/2015 11:50:12 AM



Using epoxy wont create excessive heat with just 4-5mm thick.

Using CSM builds thick laminates easier, with epoxy you need to use more expensive cloth and many more layers of it too. Tailoring the cloth and wetting out the extra layers will take much longer. 

I know of old school mould builders who would use regular polyester resins with light surfboard cloth materials but lots and lots of layers built up over many days or weeks. This way the heat and shrinkage was reduced and the mould had  a high fibre/resin ratio making it stiff and stable compared to a CSM laminate.